Editor:
I wonder why the City of White Rock does not spend our tax dollars more effectively.
Last fall, White Rock spent considerable money in an attempt to eradicate the local invasive blackberry bushes on the Marine Drive hump.
This spring, they have grown back twice as thick.
I’m wondering if the plan is to repeat this waste of money again and again until their three-year plan comes to fruition. Is this going to be an annual waste of funds, and to what extent is it achieving any long-term solution?
I’ve attached pictures of what the hillside looked like after they spent the money last fall and what it looks like today. Any work done has gone down the drain.
A second area of concern relates to their ability to perform any level of proper project management. There are several elements to project management missing from a long-term solution for the White Rock hillside:
• Identifying and disclosing measurable objectives at the outset;
• Proactive – rather than reactive – stakeholder communication of the objectives, including the budget;
• Having an overall plan, versus developing annual tactics to get them thru the next step.
What’s the plan for the eyesore that has been waiting to get cleaned up for the last six months? (Lack of city plan surprises enviro adviser, Feb. 19)
Planting the idea of a paved parking lot (‘Hump parking’ memo surprises council, March 1) and then announcing it will be another three years before they have the project completed. You certainly didn’t hear that last year when they reactively communicated what they were doing (We should have had bluff plan: Baldwin, June 3).
You also don’t get the feeling that BNSF Railway – a key stakeholder – has been involved in any meaningful planning sessions (Hillside answers sought, May 20, 2015).
Maybe they should be investing in someone who has this skill set or understands the process to actually assemble and manage a plan.
I have lived in White Rock for 26 years. The last few years, the city has seen a significant deterioration in the quality of municipal management and fiscal responsibility of spending taxpayer dollars.
Maybe it is time to hand it over to Surrey to do a better job.
Dave Ludwar, White Rock